Pom Perspective: Think Globally, Act Locally
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011Free links, Listings and Reviews
Tech companies that primarily market to global or national audiences may be able to tap in to new traffic sources right in their own digital backyard. Local search was one of the top online marketing trends in 2010 and this year it’s even hotter. Here are a few reasons why it pays to get into the local search scene:
Free links. Most local business listings are free, easy to customize (hello, keywords!), and include a link from a popular domain with search authority. Links to your website from reputable sources also help your site rank higher for non-local searches. Google Places, Bing local business listings, Yelp, and City Search are good places to start developing online local listings.
More SERP real estate. In Google, most search queries now return global results mixed with local results. Focusing on building local business listings increases the likelihood that your company’s website will show up in the search results for both local and non-local searches. After investing in local SEO, one Google search could potentially display results for multiple pages on your website, your company’s Google Places page, and several of your local business listings. Throw in a targeted PPC campaign and there is a good chance that your company will dominate the results for your most important keywords.
Reviews and Deals, they’re not just for brick and mortars. Several local directory sites, such as Google Places and Yelp, allow companies to promote deals and special offers at no charge. Deals and coupons can easily be added to a business profile to promote free trials and demos, product and service discounts, training and webinars, and more. In addition, most local business listings also allow customers to leave reviews about your business. Online reviews are now just as important to global and product-centric companies as they are to local storefronts. With the launch of Google Hotpot, Google is placing an even heavier emphasis on online reviews, yet again blurring the lines between local search and social media. Think of reviews as a way to boost your company’s online reputation and showcase its stellar customer service.
In this mobile world, you never know where your customers will be when they search for you online. So don’t just think global or local. Go glocal!
Pom Perspective: Go Mobile or Go Home
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011Android, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, iOS, RIM, Symbia. What does it all mean?
It means that if you thought smartphones were going the way of the lava lamp — a loved, but short-lived accessory, it’s time to think again. Smartphones are here to stay and they are making a noticeable impact on web design & development, and thus, how you represent your brand online.
Today, wi-fi, tethering and increasingly ubiquitous high-speed mobile coverage make it possible for us to stay connected. Always. That means when Joe’s boss asks him to cut IT costs by 30% in Q2, you better believe he’s taking advantage of his 40-minute train ride to explore vendor websites, check-in with his twitter network and update his Facebook friends to let them know he’s under the gun — again — at the office.
So what does this all mean for marketers? At a minimum — and I do mean minimum — it means that Joe is expecting that your website is going to work on his Droid. So, how do you make sure it does?
Here are 3 simple tips to get going in mobile:
1.    Know your audience. What phones and platforms does your audience use most? Don’t forget to include tablets here — have you seen the feeds coming from CES 2011?!
2.    Test, test, test. Find out what phones and mobile browsers your potential customers are using and get them. Then test your site on them to determine what, if anything, needs to be fixed.
3.    Don’t beat yourself up. It’s ok if not all aspects of your site work in all mobile browsers. Like life, mobile is a journey, not a destination. Don’t be afraid to try things and don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Why IT people hate most websites
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011A recent poll of 262 IT and business professionals in the Mid-Atlantic region identified the Top 5 things that irk them about technology-related websites:
1. Too much fluff. They think most technology-related websites make too many expansive performance claims and don’t include enough specifics on how things work.
2. Instant gratification. They dislike having to dig deep to find adequate information about technical specifications and system requirements. They want to know how things work!
3. Not enough proof. They want evidence that the technology works and that it’s better than what else is available. They like things like competitor charts with features and benefits. They also like white papers with hard data.
4. No demos. It annoys them to be required to fill out a form to request a demo and then be harassed by a sales person. They want to see a demo first and then decide if they want more information.
5. Too hard to see the benefits. Tell them straight up how the technology will make their life easier. Will it help them sleep better at night? Will it reduce their workload? They want to know what’s in it for them right upfront.
I Gotta Feeling…
Thursday, April 29th, 2010I love running to the Black Eyed Peas song “I Gotta Feeling”. It makes me feel like I am Wonder Woman. It’s so upbeat and motivating.
I want to pass the feeling that I get from this song on to you and your business. The last year and half has been tough for most businesses. Many have gone into their shells like turtles, hiding out until it’s safe to show their faces.
Well, I gotta feeling that things are looking up for the economy and business overall. I see businesses every day that are pumped up and ready to get out there and go after it. They’re taking a hard look at their market positioning and determining if there are ways they can make themselves more relevant in today’s world. They’re getting real about their web presences and realizing that they need to do what it takes to have a stronger site that is search engine friendly. They may not get what search engine marketing is all about but they know they can’t bury their heads in the sand about it anymore because their competitors are showing up and they are not.
Yeah, I realize that our economy is complicated and one thing impacts another and so on. But Americans are resilient people and we get bored sitting around waiting for the sky to fall so we start coming up with new ideas and ultimately roll up our sleeves and get busy. This is what I am seeing every day with companies all over the country. They’re gearing up to kick some serious booty.
What’s it going to take for you to “get the feeling” that things are going to be good for your business? I say do whatever it takes to wake this feeling up because chances are, your competition is already feeling it.
Ask The Marketing Coach: Is SEO Really Worth The Money?
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009Dear Marketing Coach,
I’m considering search engine optimization for my website, but I’m not sure if it’s something that is really worth spending money on. Can you tell me what kind of results should I expect and how long it will take before I see the effects of SEO?
When it comes to search engine optimization, exact results can vary greatly, which is why so many business owners have a hard time justifying the cost of SEO services amidst budget cuts and company lay offs. However, if your website hasn’t already been optimized then you should expect to see an improvement in the quality of traffic you receive (which can be measured by an increase in qualified leads or sales), an increase in traffic from search engines, or if you hired a skilled SEO professional you will hopefully get both. Although exact results may vary, SEO campaigns can be measured for success using an analytics tool so it is pretty easy to determine the return on your investment, which we all know is what matters most.
Keep in mind that there are a few things you can do to contribute to the success of your SEO efforts. First off, SEO should be seen as a long-term investment in your business and not as something you do once and then you don’t have to worry about it again. Even if your budget doesn’t support a full-blown SEO campaign, it is a good idea to come up with a 6-12 month SEO plan in order to achieve your goals. With SEO, best results are obtained by first optimizing your website and then focusing on off-page optimization, such as link building, and content creation, which should be done on an ongoing basis as part of your marketing efforts. It is also important that you set proper expectations because SEO results don’t happen overnight. Depending on the competition surrounding your target keywords, and how well your site was doing in the search engines before your started your SEO campaign, it can take more than 6 months before you see a significant increase in search engine rankings. But don’t despair, you should start to see some initial results within a month. But if you are really eager to get a boost in traffic, consider launching pay-per-click campaign while you are waiting for your SEO efforts to kick in gear.
Do you have a question for the Marketing Coach? Go ahead, just ask! Email thecoach@pomagency.com or leave a comment to have all of your marketing questions answered.
Dear Marketing Coach,
I’m considering search engine optimization for my website, but I’m not sure if it’s something that is really worth spending money on. Can you tell me what kind of results should I expect and how long it will take before I see the effects of SEO?
When it comes to search engine optimization, exact results can vary greatly, which is why so many business owners have a hard time justifying the cost of SEO services amidst budget cuts and company lay offs. However, if your website hasn’t already been optimized then you should expect to see an improvement in the quality of traffic you receive (which can be measured by an increase in qualified leads or sales), an increase in traffic from search engines, or if you hired a skilled SEO professional you will hopefully get both. Although exact results may vary, SEO campaigns can be measured for success using an analytics tool so it is pretty easy to determine the return on your investment, which we all know is what matters most.
Keep in mind that there are a few things you can do to contribute to the success of your SEO efforts. First off, SEO should be seen as a long-term investment in your business and not as something you do once and then you don’t have to worry about it again. Even if your budget doesn’t support a full-blown SEO campaign, it is a good idea to come up with a 6-12 month SEO plan in order to achieve your goals. With SEO, best results are obtained by first optimizing your website and then focusing on off-page optimization, such as link building, and content creation, which should be done on an ongoing basis as part of your marketing efforts. It is also important that you set proper expectations because SEO results don’t happen overnight. Depending on the competition surrounding your target keywords, and how well your site was doing in the search engines before you started your SEO campaign, it can take more than 6 months before you see a significant increase in search engine rankings. But don’t despair, you should start to see some initial results within a month. But if you are really eager to get a boost in traffic, consider launching a pay-per-click campaign while you are waiting for your SEO efforts to kick in gear.
Do you have a question for the Marketing Coach? Go ahead, just ask! Email thecoach@pomagency.com or leave a comment to have all of your marketing questions answered.
Journey to a New Website — Where to Begin?
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009At Pomerantz, we recently took some of our own advice and decided to give our website a complete overhaul— total redesign, new content management system, and fully optimized for search engines. During this journey, as we walked a mile in our clients’ shoes, we discovered that there were some things that even our agency struggled with along the way (and we’re the professionals!). That got me thinking about how challenging it can be to figure out where to start with all of this web stuff, how to determine what’s going to work for your business, and how to select a service provider that will turn your goals into reality. Here are a few tips to help you sort through the muck and focus in on what’s really important:
1. Research the basics
You could spend countless hours reading articles about web design, web development, content management systems, internet marketing, search engine optimization, web analytics, and more, but the goal of your research should not be to become an expert in these disciplines. The idea is to form a basic understanding of the tools available to enhance your company’s web presence so you don’t feel overwhelmed when shopping around for service providers. A few quick searches can help you make sense of the difference between pay per click advertising and search engine optimization or weigh the pros and cons of using a content management system versus not using a CMS. But when it comes to understanding the techniques that are used to implement these tactics— it’s probably best to leave that to the professionals.
2. Research your competitors
Although any good web service provider includes competitive analysis when formulating an internet marketing strategy, it doesn’t hurt to go into the process already knowing what your competitors are up to. Start with your competitors’ websites and make note of what you like and what you don’t like. Look for certain design styles that catch your eye (in a good or bad way), try to find specific functions that appeal to you such as the navigation or portfolio gallery, notice the calls to action on the websites and how prospects are encouraged to contact the company or take a desired action, check to see if your competitors are utilizing a blog or promoting social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) on their websites.
3. Shop around
If your company doesn’t have an agency of record that can help with a website redesign or internet marketing, do some comparison shopping before you pick your service provider. Not all web design firms, search engine companies, and internet marketing agencies are created equal. Many have a checklist of standard services that they will sell you, even if your company doesn’t need it, so beware of firms that don’t talk to you about your business and goals before offering prices and solutions. Don’t be afraid to ask for references, descriptions of the web work the agency has performed, and the results their clients have seen. Also, if an agency can’t explain their services or results in a way that you can understand… then keep looking!
Don’t worry, if you need help along the way just Ask The Marketing Coach! Or if you want to start shopping around now, contact Pomerantz for a free Website Evalution.